


Together Forever Again

by HiddenTreasures



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Reunions, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 05:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11120745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenTreasures/pseuds/HiddenTreasures
Summary: The sudden reappearance of their marriage bond lets the Doctor know that his Rose is finally in his universe again.





	Together Forever Again

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a prompt on Tumblr using the phrases "I was in the neighborhood" and "Stay there. I'm coming to get you."

The Doctor’s head suddenly ached, and he pressed his palms into his eyes. The TARDIS’s hum increased in pitch, as though the old girl was excited, but why on earth was she excited he had a sudden headache?

_Hello?_

The Doctor froze, recognizing the headache for what it was. It wasn’t a headache at all. It was the abrupt _absence_ of an ache, an ache that had been plaguing him for ten years, and one that he had grown used to living with.

His hearts galloped in his chest and he tentatively lowered his telepathic barriers.

_Hello?_ he called out.

_Doctor?_

His mind was awash with light, and with that light came warmth, happiness, and love, but also disbelief and incredulity.

_Rose,_ he rasped. _Oh, Rose! Where are you? Are you all right? How are you here? What happened?_

_Well, you know, I was in the neighborhood,_ she joked weakly. _I can tell you the full story when I see you. If you want._

_I want_ , he said firmly, his hands already turning dials to take him into flight. _Stay there. I’m coming to get you_.

As he moved to set the coordinates, he asked sheepishly, _Er, where exactly are you, love?_

She was on Earth, thankfully, and she gave him her location as well as the date and time.

_I’m on my way,_ the Doctor said, flipping the lever and sending them into flight. But as they moved through the Vortex, his stomach filled with dread. A lot had happened in those ten years. He wasn’t the same man he was when she was lost at Canary Wharf. Literally.

He ran his hands through his floppy hair and down his large, square chin. What would she think? What would she say? Would she still want him, even though he wasn’t the same Doctor she was probably expecting.

_You all right?_ she asked quietly, her nerves clearly on display upon picking up on his sudden distress.

_Er, yeah. Sort of. You’ll see. I’ve got a bit of a surprise for you. But Rose, I love you. I love you so much and I’ve missed you more than I could possibly tell you._

_I love you, too_ , Rose said. _And I missed you, too. I missed this._ She slipped her mind tight against his, and the Doctor’s eyes fluttered shut at the familiar sensation.

_Does it… do I… does the bond still feel the same?_ he asked. He wasn’t sure if regeneration would change how he felt in her mind. She still felt the same to him.

_Of course. Why wouldn’t you?_ She suddenly felt uneasy, and the Doctor wanted to wrap her up in reassurances, but he was nearly paralyzed by his own fear and insecurity as the TARDIS landed with a light thump.

_You’ll see. I’m here, love_.

The doors of the TARDIS had already swung open, and Rose stepped into the ship. His hearts stuttered in his chest as he looked upon his bondmate for the first time in too many years.

“You’ve redecorated!” she exclaimed, and he felt her excitement and slight surprise at the new console. The surprise melted into fondness as she trailed her hand along the railing, and she looked away from the bright orange interior of their home to gaze up at him. Her mind went blank and quiet, and the Doctor’s fear seemed to choke him.

“And you’ve… you’ve regenerated,” she said softly, still standing on the ramp.

“Yeah,” the Doctor whispered. “A few years ago, now. What do you think?”

“How long?” Rose asked, finally walking up to him.

He furrowed his brows. “I just said. A few years.”

“No, no,” Rose corrected. “Since Canary Wharf. How long?”

A lump lodged in the Doctor’s throat, and he managed to rasp, “Too long. Ten years, maybe? Not sure. All a bit of a blur.”

“Ten years?” Rose repeated, her face falling.

The Doctor nodded, and he wished desperately that Rose would give him a sign, any sign, that she still wanted him.

“Oh!”

Rose clapped a hand to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears, and suddenly his mind was surrounded by hers, and she was stepping towards him. He watched with bated breath, barely daring to believe, but yes! She walked right up to him and she lifted her arms and set them around his shoulders, and he was home.

Something broke in his chest, and a dry sob heaved its way up his throat, and he crushed her to him, never wanting to let her go again.

_Of course I want you, you daft man!_ The Doctor was surprised by the hurt coloring her tone. _I promised you that years back. And when we bonded… How could you think that just because you regenerated that I’d leave?_

The Doctor shrugged helplessly and clung to her more tightly.

_I’m sorry,_ he said. _I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean… I’m sorry, love. Please forgive me._

_I love you, Doctor. You. Not your body. I’ll love you in any body, in any time, in any place. Forever._

The quoting of her wedding vows made tears sting in his eyes, and he pulled back to look at his bondmate. His Rose.

“I really, really missed you,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut as he pressed his lips to her forehead. He buried his nose into her hair, inhaling deeply. She smelled different than he was expecting, but still good, and underneath the artificial aromas of her shampoo, and the slightly oily, dusty smell of however she managed to come home, was a scent that he could only ever define as _Rose_. “I missed you every day, Rose. I never stopped looking. I swear to you! I never stopped! So how are you here with me? Because I would’ve come to get you if I knew it was possible!”

“I know you would’ve,” Rose soothed. “My story is quite a long one, too. And I want to know everything that’s happened to you since we’ve been apart. Especially your regeneration. Were you alone when it happened?”

The Doctor nodded. But then he paused and said, “Well, not completely. I went back and visited friends, first. A final farewell. And… And you, love. I went back to see you. Risky, I know, but I couldn’t bear leaving that body without seeing you one last time.”

As he spoke, the Doctor watched her eyes go hazy, lost in the memory he was sure had unlocked. Tears filled her eyes as they both wandered through the memories of nineteen-year-old Rose as she unknowingly spoke to her dying husband.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, tucking her head against his shoulder again. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you in the way I should have been. But never again, yeah? I’m home, and I’m never leaving you again. We can continue our forever again.”

The Doctor smiled, feeling happier than he ever remembered feeling. He cradled Rose’s cheeks in his hands and tilted her head up as he bent down, until their faces were close enough that he could catch her lips for a kiss. It felt different. Brilliant, but different. His lips and mouth were still relatively new, never been kissed, and it took them a minute to find a rhythm. He shied away from nips on his bottom lip that would’ve driven his old self mad, but he melted into the way her tongue flicked across the ridges on the roof of his mouth.

He felt ten years’ worth of desire swell up inside him, and he dropped his hands to her bum to pull her flush against him.

“Can we…” His voice escaped him, and he closed his eyes and opened himself up to their bond to let her know exactly what he wanted. She moaned and pressed herself closer, her own arousal adding to the intoxicating cocktail of hormones they were generating.

“Yes, please,” Rose murmured.

The Doctor pressed a parting kiss to her lips, and pulled away to send them into the Vortex.

“Care to do the honors, my love?” he asked, gesturing grandly at the dematerialization lever.

“Together,” Rose said, reaching out to take his hand.

She pressed a kiss to his knuckles and set their joined hands on the lever, and together they sent themselves into the privacy of the Vortex, where they could take however long they liked to reconnect and make up for all of the time they’d lost.


End file.
